Road Rovers
|last_aired= }} Road Rovers is a short-lived American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that premiered on Kids' WB for the 1996 Fall Season on September 7, 1996. For unknown reasons, the series ran for one season and ended on February 22, 1997. Reruns continued to air until September 6, 1997. It was later shown on Cartoon Network from February 7, 1998 until 2000. Over the years, the series gained a cult following, with many expressing that the series have a comeback. The show follows the adventures of the Road Rovers, a team of five super-powered crime-fighting anthropomorphic dogs, known as "cano-sapiens". Plot In the town of Socorro, New Mexico, Professor Shepherd was forced to relinquish an experimental transdogmafier technology to General Parvo in exchange for his lost dog, but instead Parvo gives him a bomb that destroys his laboratory. One year later, as normal dogs begin to mutate into monsters, Shephard, who miraculously survived the attack, takes measures to stop Parvo who is behind this. Shepherd selects five different dogs and in his new, secret underground lab, he uses his new transdogmifier on the five, turning them into "Cano-sapiens". These dogs are the pets of world leaders and when called to action they are a team of crime fighters known as The Road Rovers. Characters *'Hunter' (Jess Harnell): A Golden Retriever mix breed from the United States and the leader of the team. While an effective, optimistic, and loyal leader, Hunter also can get overly cocky. Hunter's power is super speed; this allows him to run faster than the speed of sound. He is shown to love playing, especially catch with a ball. He has a good relationship with everyone on the team, especially Colleen, whom he shares similar qualities with. In terms of family, Hunter lives with President Bill Clinton in the White House. Hunter is also known to have a mother, which he lived with until she was taken to an animal shelter in episode thirteen. *'Colleen' (Tress MacNeille): A no-nonsense Rough Collie from the United Kingdom, and the only female in the group. Colleen is the coordinator of the team, always checking to make sure everything goes well without any problems or issues. She is also a skilled martial artist, using her skills to help the team. She gets along well with the team, and with her good looks, many of them have a crush on her. It is hinted that she had mutual feelings for Hunter. Blitz also has feelings for Colleen, but these go unreciprocated, with her playfully making fun of Blitz in return, to the point of anger. Nothing is known about her past family or master, and she currently resides with the prime minister of the United Kingdom, John Major and his wife. *'Blitz' (Jeff Bennett): A Doberman from Germany. Unlike Hunter, Blitz is shown to have arrogant, selfish, and cowardly tendencies. Blitz has a short temper, and is quick to anger. His super powers are his sharp claws and strong jaws, which allow him to bite and claw through most things. He also loves peppermint milkshakes and biting rear ends. He sometimes has a strained relationship with the other Rovers, with many of them teasing him. He has a crush on Colleen, but only returns this by playing around with Blitz, and giving him unwanted nicknames. Colleen has been known to resort to physical violence when Blitz attempts to lay a finger on her. Blitz formerly was a guard dog for thieves, but now lives with the chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl. *'Exile' (Kevin Michael Richardson): A Siberian Husky from Siberia. His full name is Exilo Michalovitch Sanhusky. Exile speaks English with a thick Russian accent, sometimes mixing up words in the process (ex: "Aprilday" instead of "Mayday", "Jingle balls" instead of "Jingle bells"). Exile is kind and friendly, but also has a bit of a temper. He has a good relationship with Blitz, although he does not like it when Blitz starts acting like a "weird boy" in front of him. His super powers are super vision, which include heat, freeze, as well as night vision, and super strength. He is shown to be good at fixing things, and just as good at breaking them. Exile used to work with other huskies as a sled dog, but now lives with the president of Russia Boris Yeltsin. In episode three, Exile mentions having a mother, whom he misses, and a father, whom he has a much colder relationship with. Exile loves giving and receiving kisses and bear hugs, especially when it comes to his teammates, and has an affinity for children's books. *'Shag' (Frank Welker): An Old English Sheepdog from Switzerland. Shag only transformed halfway into a Cano-sapien. He walks like a human, but speaks in a half-dog, half-human dialect. In addition to this, he does not wear a uniform, instead remaining in his natural state. He serves as the cook for the team, and gets along with all of its members. He possesses the ability to carry supplies for the team, and is able to carry whatever they need, he also was gifted incredible strength enough to lift two cars simultaneously. Shag is unfortunately a natural coward and has trouble understanding most of the technology used by the rovers and it tends to backfire on him. He lived in a valley with a flock of sheep, but now lives with Arnold Koller, the president of the Swiss Confederation. *'Muzzle' (Welker): A Rottweiler. Muzzle was once "Scout", Professor Sheperd's dog that was kidnapped. He was never transformed into a Cano-sapien, but instead became aggressive due to Parvo's failed experiment on him. Due to this aggression, he is often restrained on a cart while wearing a straitjacket and mask. He serves as a “final attack” for the team. Whenever the Rovers feel they are outnumbered, Hunter takes off Muzzle's straitjacket and mask, letting Muzzle jump in to attack on Hunter's command of “Let’s Muzzle ‘em!”. Muzzle and Hunter first meet when Parvo drops Muzzle off at an animal shelter, after having failed to turn Muzzle into a Cano-sapien. *'Persia' (Sheena Easton): An Afghan Hound and leader of the Space Rovers. *'Professor Hubert' (David Doyle): A Bloodhound scientist. *'Professor William F. Shepherd "The Master"' (Joseph Campanella): The geneticist behind the transdogmafier and the Road Rovers. He's the master of the Road Rovers, and the one who selected each of them. Without him, the world would have been ruled by the cano-mutants led by Parvo. When Shepherd attempted to recover Scout from Parvo, he gave Parvo what he asked in return for Scout. Unfortunately, he was tricked, and he received a bomb instead, causing the whole laboratory he owned to fall into ruins and sending him underground. By then, Parvo believed that Shepherd was dead. However, he had no knowledge that Shepherd survived, thus leaving him to finish what he started. So, he built the team's headquarters, while providing everything the Rovers need: weapons, food, vehicles, bathrooms, transformation pods, a recovery room, and even a meeting room. Whenever there's danger or troubles in an indicated place, Shepherd calls for the rovers and informs them about it. It was never explained how Shepherd's hair became white after his disappearance, nor why he's always behind a gate of light which almost entirely hides his identity. (Although he gives a very simple reason: “special effects”) *'General Parvo' (Jim Cummings): The Road Rovers' main antagonist who is out to destroy Professor Shepherd and conquer the world. He has a permanent cough. It was revealed later in the series that General Parvo was at one time a Cat before being transformed into a "Feline Sapien", which resemble humans a great deal more than Shepherd's Cano-sapiens. He shares a very similar appearance to wrestler Hulk Hogan. The name Parvo derives from a canine disease which often kills puppies. *'The Groomer' (Sheena Easton): The Groomer is the mostly loyal assistant to General Parvo. She's generally armed with a portable hair clipper, though she uses other equipment when it's appropriate. She also provides Parvo with throat lozenges to calm his coughing fits. *'Cano-mutants': Dogs turned into humanoid monsters and led by Parvo. Episodes | ShortSummary = The Road Rovers meet for the first time. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = Disgraced Captain Zachary Storm seeks revenge on the United States for his court-martial. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = Packs of werewolves take over London, and Exile seems to have gotten bitten (or scratched), which puts him under watch. Ultimately, it turns out Colleen was the one who turned into a werewolf, they seek help from the wise Confusus (Confuse Us) who gives them a riddle to cure a werewolf's bite. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = The nations of Eisneria and Katzenstok (named after the CEOs of Disney and DreamWorks) are preparing to go to war over an ancient scepter. This episode featured a reference to Disney at the end of the episode, complete with the silhouette of the head of Mickey Mouse. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = The Road Rovers must protect ancient artifacts from unknown ninjas (belonging to Parvo). | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = One dog has the answers to a rash of human and canine kidnappings, and becomes a temporary Road Rover so he can testify. However, Sport, the name of the dog, had somewhat of a big mouth and tried talking himself out of certain situations. This episode's title is a play on the title "The Man Who Knew Too Much". | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = Parvo and his cano-mutants are at it again. This time, it's a high-tech, heavily armed concentration camp to keep thousands of dogs in captivity. This is for shipping armies of cano-mutants out to the major cities of the world so Parvo can take over militarily. The episode's title is likely a play on the old TV show Hogan's Heroes, which centered on American POWs held somewhere in Nazi Germany. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = The Groomer gets delusions of grandeur involved taking over the world with cats, otherwise known as Felo-Mutants. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = A biologist named Dr. Eugene Atwater does some research on the survival of bugs over the years of their survival. However, General Parvo turns his research subjects into life-size giants using an attachment from his Cano-Mutator. The bugs now plan on making a nuclear winter, since they know that only they will survive it. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = General Parvo builds a successful time machine so then he could stop Prof. Shepherd from creating the Road Rovers. An accident reverts him back to his original form of an alley cat, but the Rovers still have to follow him back to ensure their creation. As with "Hunter's Heroes" and "The Dog Who Knew Too Much", this episode's title featured a play on words, this time a reference to the old phrase 'raining cats and dogs'. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = Gold begins to flood the world's markets at an alarming rate. The source is traced to South America, where a blind boy named Luca leads them to an ancient golden pyramid. The episode's title is a partial pun on Hunter's breed of dog, the Golden Retriever. | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = Zachary Storm is back again, and hires alien-like recruits to start a nuclear war - off screen cameo from The Brain (from Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain). | LineColor = B0171F }} | ShortSummary = An ordinary day for the Rovers. "Ms. Flamial" (from Animaniacs) is mentioned in this episode. Song: Russian Names Song | LineColor = B0171F }} }} Reception Home media releases A multi-region DVD of the entire series was announced on February 4, 2015 by Warner Archive and was released on February 10, 2015. All episodes are also available for viewing on Crunchyroll's VRV streaming service. References External links * Category:1990s American animated television series Category:1990s American superhero comedy television series Category:1996 American television series debuts Category:1997 American television series endings Category:Animal superheroes Category:American children's animated superhero television series Category:Dog superheroes Category:American animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Animated television series about dogs Category:Kids' WB original programs Category:Television series created by Tom Ruegger Category:American time travel television series Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Animation Category:Television superheroes Category:Science fantasy television series Category:American children's animated action television series Category:American children's animated adventure television series Category:American children's animated science fantasy television series Category:American children's animated comedy television series Category:Television shows set in New Mexico Category:Television series scored by Gordon Goodwin Category:Television series scored by Don L. Harper